Decide to wait

 

Habakkuk makes an important (and wise) decision. 

I will stand on my guard post
And station myself on the rampart;
And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me,
And how I may reply when I am reproved. (Habakkuk 2:1, NASB)

Depending on the translation you read, the phrase above could use "guard post" as the NASB does, or could use "watchtower." It could describe some sort of wooden tower that the prophet built, where he could watch and wait for God's answer to come. It could describe a spot on the city wall, since he mentions "rampart," where he took up his watch and waited. Habakkuk had no clue how the Lord would answer. He didn't know how long he would have to wait. He only knew that he'd said all that was in his heart - and now it was time to wait on the Lord.

Habakkuk still doesn't understand how God can use the wicked Babylonians to judge Judah for their sins. It still doesn't make sense to him. 

We don't know exactly how long he had to wait until God, at length, answered him. We humans today are not good at waiting.

We're not good at listening, either. 

Nowadays, we are best at talking.

We talk on our phones.

We talk in person.

We "talk" on social media. Oh, we do that a lot.

Maybe part of the problem, and the reason we "don't get an answer from God" is that we are too busy talking! At some point, we have to stop talking about our problems. We need to listen for what God is going to say to us.

Habakkuk is wise enough to take his problems to the Almighty. And wise enough to leave them there. And listen.

If there is one thing we have seen this week, it's that God is bigger than we think He is. And maybe I mean "better," too. His ways are better than the ways we would use. His heart is better than our hearts as we struggle to be more like Him. His thoughts are better and higher. His plans are WAY better, even though we don't always understand. So we shouldn't be surprised, I guess, when His answers don't always line up with our desires!

So, what do we do when the answer we receive from God is not what we expected? What do we do when we don't like His answer?
Getting angry doesn't help.

Getting sad doesn't help.

Trying to "make a deal" with Him doesn't help.

We CAN ask God questions, like our buddy Habakkuk did.

We CAN go back to the basics and remind ourselves Who God is, like Habakkuk did.

MOST OF ALL, we can decide to wait on the Lord. We can have faith and hope that what doesn't make sense to us now will be much clearer later on. 

We'll leave Habakkuk in his tower, or on the ramparts, for now. He is an example to us of waiting for the Lord. 

Are we waiting on the Lord right now for an answer? As we wait, let's remember that God has not forgotten us. We are on His mind right now! He sees our fear, our confusion, and our pain. Do not despair; wait and rest.

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land. (Psalm 37:7-9)